Page 115 of Queen of Legends and Lies
Twisting the magic, I try my best to direct it at the stone planters.
It’s ironic that the best way to save them is to burn everything I can. But there are too many attacks coming from every direction. Friend and foe.
Earthen barriers sprout up. Shields of water struggle against the heat. Winds thrash, throwing ash and cinder in whirling dervishes.
We’re outnumbered and overpowered.
Tanwen and Kaida add their flames to the fight, but this time, the guards duck and hide behind shields. I push the fires away before their cover is destroyed.
The gardens go up in flames.
The torches light and turn to ash in moments. The hairs on my arms sizzle and melt. Every breath burns my nose, my mouth, and my throat.
But I can’t stop moving.
As I race to intercept a blast of fire hurtling toward a cluster of guards, a horrible certainty crystallizes within me.
We’re not going to win this fight.
Not like this.
Grief lodges in my throat as I meet Eldor’s gaze across the fray, the man I’ve come to know and love still strapped across Kaida’s back. My grandfather. Helpless.
I failed him.
Just like I’m failing the kingdom.
That cascade of emotions is a distraction I cannot afford. Too late, I spot Chirean’s head swinging my way. Flames arc from his jaws, too quickly for me to dodge them.
The prophecy was wrong. I won’t even make it to the final battle. I’m going to die right here.
A wall of earth shoots up in front of me, blocking the dragonfire.
The recurved top sends the flames rolling back harmlessly. Though the dragons may not care, I bet their riders will.
Agnar slams into the wall at my side, wings tucked away. His clothes are singed, and his face is smudged with soot, but his cerulean eyes blaze with determination. “They’re attacking from everywhere.”
Leesa, Helene, and Elijah come running in stooped positions to fan out beside him. I catch a glimpse of Leesa’s stricken face when she spots Eldor on Kaida’s back. Helene opens a slit in the wall for my sister to shoot arrow after arrow at the traitors.
Like me, she’s always been good with a bow.
Elijah has also carved out a peephole for himself, and he slings his own bow from his shoulder. His mouth sets in a harsh line as he nocks an arrow.
“Took you long enough.” I duck as another heatwave blasts over us. “Did you stop to smell the flowers on your way?”
“I would have.” Agnar gestures to the ash-covered grounds. “But there wasn’t much left of them.”
Moise and Serle rain down magic from atop their dragons, the air crackling with their malevolent power. I counterwhat I can, but I’m struggling just to hold off the dragonfire threatening to consume us.
Sweat pours down my face as I strain to maintain a shield of flame. Sterling volleys cascade after cascade of water and ice, pelting traitors and dragons alike in his fury.
Guards appear, taking cover along the arches leading to the burning courtyard. Fires are snuffed out. Water rushes up, forcing the dragons to direct their flames toward that. The ground rumbles as the earth stretches skyward to snare the rampaging beasts.
Dame thrashes against Celeste’s commands, her claws scraping grooves in the flagstones. For a moment, I’m terrified the dragons will take flight again and carry our enemies out of reach.
Then Bastian stumbles into the courtyard, one hand to his head. “The dragons won’t abandon the fight. Their pride won’t allow it. Focus on the betrayers.”
His words align with what I felt from them. I shift my focus from the corrupted creatures to the people responsible.
